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Thread started 07/15/05 1:18pm

TonyVanDam

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Lil Jon Counts Down Top 10 Crunk Songs of All-Time

http://p076.ezboard.com/f...=323.topic
http://www.eastbayexpress...music.html

As late as a year ago, Lil Jon was still, to casual music fans, merely Robin Hood's sidekick. That changed for good in the wake of Usher's across-the-board No. 1 hit "Yeah!" Suddenly, even soccer moms were scanning the glut of "What Is Crunk?" stories written primarily to introduce the world to the 21st-century Lil Jon, who now rules the high-energy hip-hop offshoot he helped create.
The dreadlocked, gold-toothed Atlanta producer and MC has overseen and/or appeared on so many releases over the past few years that his discography has Library of Congress-style heft. Everyone from thugged-out Southerners like Trick Daddy to thugged-out Northerners like Mobb Deep to East Bay icon Too $hort to pop tarts like Brooke Valentine have sought Jon for a dose of crunk cred, and it's difficult to imagine that he's turned anyone down -- which makes trying to pick Lil Jon's ten best tracks a nearly impossible task. But as the man himself once advised, you can't be scared to represent yo' @#%$.

1. "Bia Bia," Lil Jon and the East Side Boyz (2001) -- Lil Jon first got himself (and crunk) on the map in 1997 with the single "Who U Wit?," but despite its gang-rapped vocals and budding belligerence, that song today sounds more like the 2 Live Crew, a pale forerunner of what was to come. The story really starts with "Bia Bia," which not only presented Jon's first guest-star extravaganza (Ludacris, Too $hort, Chyna White), but also most of the elements that have come to define the genre. The song's deliberate beat -- its plodding bass-and-snare rhythm ramped up by the anxiously twitching hi-hat -- its simplistic but catchy synth figure, and the out-of-control craziness of the shouted-out chants combine to make this threat to stop actin' like a bia (i.e., "biatch") the first classic crunk hit.


2. "Quit Hatin'," Too $hort (2002) -- Nearly forgotten in Lil Jon's crunkography is this collaboration with Bay Area veteran Too $hort, a natural partner because of the similarities between Too $hort's favored booty music and Jon's emerging sound. Very reminiscent of "Bia Bia," except the synth and the snarling rhymes are even more upfront, "Quit Hatin'" gave Too $hort's catalogue of same-sounding pieces a welcome shot of Southern skeet.


3. "Get Low," Lil Jon and the East Side Boyz (2002) -- Before he conclusively conquered America with "Yeah!," Lil Jon softened up the masses with this massively successful collaboration with homies the Ying Yang Twins. It's the X-rated version of Usher's big hit, rawer musically and lyrically; Jon cheers on girls who get naked for a living and reminds one young lady who dares to ask for a handout, Bitch, I ain't even seen you dance.


4. "Damn!," Youngbloodz (2002) --Another dry run for "Yeah!" and another Lil Jon hit that flew under the mainstream radar. This ATL duo proudly declared its taste for malt liquor instead of Cris (highlighting the blue-collar roots crunk shares with heavy metal and punk) and threw loud lyrical 'bows all over an even more synth-happy refinement of Jon's failsafe crunk formula.


5. "Quick to Back Down," Bravehearts (2003) -- Crunk coupled with hardcore New York hip-hop seemed like an oil-and-water pairing before Jon's surprise collaboration with the Bravehearts. This gathering storm cloud of a beat perfectly matched the menace radiated by Jungle and Wiz, and its chimes rang in the more ominous, metallic crunk from Jon that would follow.


6. "Yeah!," Usher (2004) -- You loved it, then you hated it, and now you've heard it so many times it no longer even registers. But repetition hasn't changed the brilliance of this pairing, which showed Jon could clean up crunk for the charts without sacrificing any of its urgency. The secret of this song's success, in its pairing of Jon's most maddeningly catchy synth riff with Usher's horniest vocal, is that it merely implies the sexual scenarios crunk usually spells out (at least until Ludacris' cameo).


7. "Head Bussa," Lil Scrappy/"Neva Eva," Trilville (2004) -- Neither of these teenage acts, protégés of Lil Jon, are distinctive. But for a dose of the pure, in-your-face energy that helps redeem this shortcoming, you can't go wrong with either of these manic tracks, which share an almost identical drum pattern and snotty attitude.


8. "Goodies," Ciara (2004) -- Whether the world will ever hear from Ciara again is a valid question, but there's no denying the virtues of last summer's surprise smash. A poppier, more clever knockoff of "Yeah!" (right down to the oscillating synth hook), "Goodies" started out as a superior answer to Petey Pablo's "Freek-a-Leek" (another Jon production) before taking on a life of its own. Any girl could've sung this never-gonna-get-it anthem, but the so-called "crunk-and-B" backing is purely Jon's innovation.


9. "Let's Go," Trick Daddy (2004) -- Lil Jon has frequently furthered the suggestion that crunk is the black punk rock by using sampled guitars to rough up his cuts. "Let's Go," with its riffs swiped from Ozzy's "Crazy Train," makes it crunchingly clear that crunk is actually the black heavy metal instead.


10. "Stop F***in' with Me," Lil Jon and the East Side Boyz (2004) -- Capping an incredibly prolific year, Lil Jon's Crunk Juice contained several tracks that made the crunk/metal connection explicit. This pummeling, self-explanatory tune, which samples Slayer and features an assist from Rick Rubin himself, was a glorious example of the cross-pollination. Bang your head, as you wonder: Can Spandex, umlauts, and codpieces be far behind?
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Reply #1 posted 07/15/05 1:20pm

paisleypark4

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err

.."of all time" and it's only been 3 years falloff
Straight Jacket Funk Affair
Album plays and love for vinyl records.
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Reply #2 posted 07/15/05 1:22pm

Handclapsfinga
snapz

paisleypark4 said:

err

.."of all time" and it's only been 3 years falloff

falloff
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Reply #3 posted 07/15/05 1:53pm

Anxiety

paisleypark4 said:

err

.."of all time" and it's only been 3 years falloff


i was just gonna say that. lol
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Reply #4 posted 07/15/05 1:58pm

lilgish

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At least Lil Jon is providing healthy beverages to the Black Community nod

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Reply #5 posted 07/15/05 2:00pm

Handclapsfinga
snapz

lilgish said:

At least Lil Jon is providing healthy beverages to the Black Community nod

[crunk wuz here]

his teeth alone would turn me off of that crap if i wanted a can. ill
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Reply #6 posted 07/15/05 2:20pm

AnckSuNamun

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lilgish said:

At least Lil Jon is providing healthy beverages to the Black Community nod



giggle I tried that. It's not that bad actually as far as the taste, but nothing beats Red Bull if you want energy. It's kinda hard to find here though, but it's not like I'd buy it on a regular basis anyway. Those energy drinks are so expensive.
rose looking for you in the woods tonight rose Switch FC SW-2874-2863-4789 (Rum&Coke)
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Reply #7 posted 07/15/05 2:23pm

TonyVanDam

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lilgish said:

At least Lil Jon is providing healthy beverages to the Black Community nod



Where in the hell is that Crunk Cereal? cool
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Reply #8 posted 07/15/05 2:25pm

AnckSuNamun

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TonyVanDam said:

lilgish said:

At least Lil Jon is providing healthy beverages to the Black Community nod



Where in the hell is that Crunk Cereal? cool


lol I think the drink is enough for now.
rose looking for you in the woods tonight rose Switch FC SW-2874-2863-4789 (Rum&Coke)
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Reply #9 posted 07/15/05 3:46pm

laurarichardso
n

TonyVanDam said:

http://p076.ezboard.com/fpoliticalpalacefrm57.showMessage?topicID=323.topic
http://www.eastbayexpress...music.html

As late as a year ago, Lil Jon was still, to casual music fans, merely Robin Hood's sidekick. That changed for good in the wake of Usher's across-the-board No. 1 hit "Yeah!" Suddenly, even soccer moms were scanning the glut of "What Is Crunk?" stories written primarily to introduce the world to the 21st-century Lil Jon, who now rules the high-energy hip-hop offshoot he helped create.
The dreadlocked, gold-toothed Atlanta producer and MC has overseen and/or appeared on so many releases over the past few years that his discography has Library of Congress-style heft. Everyone from thugged-out Southerners like Trick Daddy to thugged-out Northerners like Mobb Deep to East Bay icon Too $hort to pop tarts like Brooke Valentine have sought Jon for a dose of crunk cred, and it's difficult to imagine that he's turned anyone down -- which makes trying to pick Lil Jon's ten best tracks a nearly impossible task. But as the man himself once advised, you can't be scared to represent yo' @#%$.

1. "Bia Bia," Lil Jon and the East Side Boyz (2001) -- Lil Jon first got himself (and crunk) on the map in 1997 with the single "Who U Wit?," but despite its gang-rapped vocals and budding belligerence, that song today sounds more like the 2 Live Crew, a pale forerunner of what was to come. The story really starts with "Bia Bia," which not only presented Jon's first guest-star extravaganza (Ludacris, Too $hort, Chyna White), but also most of the elements that have come to define the genre. The song's deliberate beat -- its plodding bass-and-snare rhythm ramped up by the anxiously twitching hi-hat -- its simplistic but catchy synth figure, and the out-of-control craziness of the shouted-out chants combine to make this threat to stop actin' like a bia (i.e., "biatch") the first classic crunk hit.


2. "Quit Hatin'," Too $hort (2002) -- Nearly forgotten in Lil Jon's crunkography is this collaboration with Bay Area veteran Too $hort, a natural partner because of the similarities between Too $hort's favored booty music and Jon's emerging sound. Very reminiscent of "Bia Bia," except the synth and the snarling rhymes are even more upfront, "Quit Hatin'" gave Too $hort's catalogue of same-sounding pieces a welcome shot of Southern skeet.


3. "Get Low," Lil Jon and the East Side Boyz (2002) -- Before he conclusively conquered America with "Yeah!," Lil Jon softened up the masses with this massively successful collaboration with homies the Ying Yang Twins. It's the X-rated version of Usher's big hit, rawer musically and lyrically; Jon cheers on girls who get naked for a living and reminds one young lady who dares to ask for a handout, Bitch, I ain't even seen you dance.


4. "Damn!," Youngbloodz (2002) --Another dry run for "Yeah!" and another Lil Jon hit that flew under the mainstream radar. This ATL duo proudly declared its taste for malt liquor instead of Cris (highlighting the blue-collar roots crunk shares with heavy metal and punk) and threw loud lyrical 'bows all over an even more synth-happy refinement of Jon's failsafe crunk formula.


5. "Quick to Back Down," Bravehearts (2003) -- Crunk coupled with hardcore New York hip-hop seemed like an oil-and-water pairing before Jon's surprise collaboration with the Bravehearts. This gathering storm cloud of a beat perfectly matched the menace radiated by Jungle and Wiz, and its chimes rang in the more ominous, metallic crunk from Jon that would follow.


6. "Yeah!," Usher (2004) -- You loved it, then you hated it, and now you've heard it so many times it no longer even registers. But repetition hasn't changed the brilliance of this pairing, which showed Jon could clean up crunk for the charts without sacrificing any of its urgency. The secret of this song's success, in its pairing of Jon's most maddeningly catchy synth riff with Usher's horniest vocal, is that it merely implies the sexual scenarios crunk usually spells out (at least until Ludacris' cameo).


7. "Head Bussa," Lil Scrappy/"Neva Eva," Trilville (2004) -- Neither of these teenage acts, protégés of Lil Jon, are distinctive. But for a dose of the pure, in-your-face energy that helps redeem this shortcoming, you can't go wrong with either of these manic tracks, which share an almost identical drum pattern and snotty attitude.


8. "Goodies," Ciara (2004) -- Whether the world will ever hear from Ciara again is a valid question, but there's no denying the virtues of last summer's surprise smash. A poppier, more clever knockoff of "Yeah!" (right down to the oscillating synth hook), "Goodies" started out as a superior answer to Petey Pablo's "Freek-a-Leek" (another Jon production) before taking on a life of its own. Any girl could've sung this never-gonna-get-it anthem, but the so-called "crunk-and-B" backing is purely Jon's innovation.


9. "Let's Go," Trick Daddy (2004) -- Lil Jon has frequently furthered the suggestion that crunk is the black punk rock by using sampled guitars to rough up his cuts. "Let's Go," with its riffs swiped from Ozzy's "Crazy Train," makes it crunchingly clear that crunk is actually the black heavy metal instead.


10. "Stop F***in' with Me," Lil Jon and the East Side Boyz (2004) -- Capping an incredibly prolific year, Lil Jon's Crunk Juice contained several tracks that made the crunk/metal connection explicit. This pummeling, self-explanatory tune, which samples Slayer and features an assist from Rick Rubin himself, was a glorious example of the cross-pollination. Bang your head, as you wonder: Can Spandex, umlauts, and codpieces be far behind?

-----
"Stop F***in' with Me " What would we do without the poetry of these types of songs.
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Reply #10 posted 07/15/05 4:45pm

NikkiH

Actually my friends and I were using the term "crunk" in the 5th and 6th grade down here in Texas..I'm now 22.So it's been more than 3 years.I love how he only picked songs he produced.
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Reply #11 posted 07/15/05 5:01pm

Anxiety

NikkiH said:

Actually my friends and I were using the term "crunk" in the 5th and 6th grade down here in Texas..I'm now 22.So it's been more than 3 years.I love how he only picked songs he produced.


wow! so what are your favorite old skool crunk tunes?
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Reply #12 posted 07/15/05 5:58pm

TonyVanDam

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NikkiH said:

Actually my friends and I were using the term "crunk" in the 5th and 6th grade down here in Texas..I'm now 22.So it's been more than 3 years.I love how he only picked songs he produced.


Lil'Jon is the king of Atlanta Crunk. As for the genre's legecy, Jon's music accounts for at least 80% of Crunk itself. neutral


...even if he borrow some elements of Miami Bass & New Orleans Bounce!!! wink
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Reply #13 posted 07/15/05 7:33pm

Militant

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moderator

NikkiH said:

I love how he only picked songs he produced.


He didnt. Track #9 on the list - Trick Daddy's "let's go" was not produced by lil jon, he just featured on it.
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Reply #14 posted 07/15/05 7:47pm

UncleGrandpa

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It's surprising that all of the songs feature him, so take it for what it's not worth, and that is twocents .
Jeux Sans Frontiers
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Reply #15 posted 07/15/05 9:09pm

RipHer2Shreds

I think this picture should always be posted when Lil John's name is mentioned. biggrin

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Reply #16 posted 07/15/05 9:12pm

lilgish

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RipHer2Shreds said:

I think this picture should always be posted when Lil John's name is mentioned. biggrin


falloff falloff falloff falloff falloff falloff falloff falloff falloff falloff falloff falloff falloff falloff falloff falloff falloff falloff falloff falloff falloff falloff falloff falloff falloff falloff falloff falloff
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Reply #17 posted 07/15/05 9:12pm

GangstaFam

Anxiety said:

NikkiH said:

Actually my friends and I were using the term "crunk" in the 5th and 6th grade down here in Texas..I'm now 22.So it's been more than 3 years.I love how he only picked songs he produced.


wow! so what are your favorite old skool crunk tunes?

Funny that you mention that. I almost started a thread about proto-crunk. Songs like Onyx's "Slam" seem to have set the template.
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Reply #18 posted 07/15/05 9:14pm

GangstaFam

Lil Jon sure loves to party!

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Reply #19 posted 07/15/05 11:41pm

TonyVanDam

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RipHer2Shreds said:

I think this picture should always be posted when Lil John's name is mentioned. biggrin



I can't hate on Lil'Jon too easily. Nerds make money. Just ask Bill Gates! cool
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Reply #20 posted 07/15/05 11:45pm

paisleypark4

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RipHer2Shreds said:

I think this picture should always be posted when Lil John's name is mentioned. biggrin


U*UUUUUGGGHHHH!!!! omg ill ill
Straight Jacket Funk Affair
Album plays and love for vinyl records.
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Reply #21 posted 07/16/05 12:13am

guitarslinger4
4

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lilgish said:

At least Lil Jon is providing healthy beverages to the Black Community nod




Crunk Juice is the SHIT! Best energy drink out there! I"m gonna be the first white guy to endorse Crunk!!! JUst you wait and see! razz
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Reply #22 posted 07/16/05 12:16am

GangstaFam

Okay!
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Reply #23 posted 07/16/05 12:37am

CinisterCee

WHat?






































WHHHAT?
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Reply #24 posted 07/16/05 6:19am

hellomoto

lilgish said:

RipHer2Shreds said:

I think this picture should always be posted when Lil John's name is mentioned. biggrin


falloff falloff falloff falloff falloff falloff falloff falloff falloff falloff falloff falloff falloff falloff falloff falloff falloff falloff falloff falloff falloff falloff falloff falloff falloff falloff falloff falloff

falloff at all of your falloff 's
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Reply #25 posted 07/16/05 6:49am

GangstaFam

CinisterCee said:

WHHHAT?

YEEAAHH!!!
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Reply #26 posted 07/16/05 7:25am

Handclapsfinga
snapz

RipHer2Shreds said:

I think this picture should always be posted when Lil John's name is mentioned. biggrin

[chihuahua-duck-frog hybrid-lookin fool was here]



fallofffallofffallofffallofffalloff i should make that into a banner just for that occasion, too.


whofarted edit! whaaaaat? okaaaaay!!!!
[Edited 7/16/05 7:27am]
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Reply #27 posted 07/16/05 11:51am

CinisterCee

^^^ hhaha great pic, snapz!
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